


the best laid plans (of mice and men often go awry)

by SpankMyAstonMartin



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-09-26 17:07:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9912584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpankMyAstonMartin/pseuds/SpankMyAstonMartin
Summary: It was supposed to be a normal night out.(In which the girls and the boys go out on a Friday night and shenanigans happen like in those two episodes of Leverage.)





	1. the best laid plans

**Author's Note:**

> Canon divergence in the sense that Lucy still exists (as in she's just been hanging out in the desert), M'gann didn't go to Mars (or maybe she did and she came back), and Mon-El is not interested in Kara romantically and is training to become Superboy (because that's how his now god-awful story line should have gone if they wanted to give him a purpose).
> 
> Also, the CW can choke.

It was supposed to be a normal night out, everyone’s first normal night out in what seemed like (and probably was for some) years. Alex and Maggie were supposed to go out for dinner. Kara, M’gann, Lucy, and Lois were going to have a girls’ night out on the town. Alex and Kara even managed to convince J’onn to do the same with Winn, James, Clark, and Mon-El. And yet, shit still managed to hit the fan.

It starts off in the DEO two days earlier. Maggie swings by with dinner for Alex and herself. Alex has been stressing over a recent case and is planning on working late tonight. Maggie goes there to make sure Alex eats something other than a protein bar.

Kara, dressed in plainclothes, runs into her on her way to Alex’s office. Maggie doesn’t miss the way Kara’s gaze keeps flickering to the bag in Maggie’s hand as they talk. She half-expects Kara to use her x-ray vision to see what’s inside.

“Come on, Little Danvers.” Maggie resumes her walk to Alex’s office. “I have some potstickers in here for you.”

“Yes!” Kara actually squeals. “Best sister’s girlfriend ever!”

They find Alex hunched over her desk staring – no glaring at the case file.

“Maybe you’ll develop heat vision if you glare at that hard enough,” Maggie teases.

“A girl can dream,” Alex says. “I still can’t figure this out and it’s starting to drive me insane.”

“So take a break.” Maggie motions to the little table in the corner of Alex’s office. “I brought dinner.”

Alex looks down at the case file on her desk and then to where her girlfriend and sister are setting up the table for them. She sighs. Kara hears this and pouts. Maggie smiles at Alex. She’s done in by the pout and dimples combo. Kara claps her hands and actually manages to wait until Alex joins them at the table before digging into her potstickers.

Maggie and Alex are about halfway through their dinner when the door to Alex's office swings open. (Kara has finished two orders of potstickers and is almost done with the third.) Lucy falters for a second. She was expecting to see Alex at her desk, not eating at the table. She most definitely wasn’t expecting to see Kara or Maggie with her either. Oh well. It means she won’t have to find Kara later.

“I need a favor,” Lucy says.

“What’s wrong?” Kara asks. There’s a hint of Supergirl in her voice, like she’s preparing to fight someone on Lucy’s behalf. (Maggie wants to laugh because, while she might not know Lucy that well, or at all, she knows Lucy doesn’t need Kara or Supergirl to fight for her.)

“Lois is coming to visit.”

“Have a potsticker,” Alex says. She manages to swipe one from Kara’s takeout container. “I have a bottle of bourbon in the bottom drawer of my desk if you need it.”

“Oh thank god.”

Lucy goes over to Alex's desk and retrieves the unopened bottle along with the glass Alex also keeps in the drawer.

Maggie glances at Alex, eyebrow raised. Alex shrugs.

“Winn gave it to me for Christmas.”

Lucy cracks open the bottle, pours herself a hefty serving, and downs half of it before saying, “She wants to do a girls’ night out on Friday.”

“And you want us to call you in for an ‘emergency’ in the middle of it?” Alex guesses.

"I want you guys to go with me. Lois made me promise no work that night.”

Alex laughs. Kara adjusts her glasses. They both remember the last time Lois visited Lucy in National City. There were still some DEO agents that turned around and ran in the other direction with they saw their non-alien director.

“Maggie and I are going out to dinner,” Alex says. Her expression is apologetic though her tone says otherwise. “But Kara is free.”

Kara sputters.

“I overheard you telling Winn you were excited to have Friday night off. You have no excuse.”

Maggie takes a sip of her water to hide her smile as Kara sputters some more. Kara’s sputtering worsens when Lucy looks at her with wide, pleading eyes. Maggie has to set down her cup when she starts laughing. Alex is grinning like a fool at the sight before her.

“Fine,” Kara concedes. “But you have to promise me no fighting this time. That was scary.”

Lucy grimaces. “I can’t promise that. But!” She holds up a finger when Kara tries to speak. “I will promise to try not to start any fights. Plus, it’s just one night. How difficult can that be?”

Lucy knocks back the rest of her drink. She misses the look Alex and Kara exchange. Maggie does not. She makes a mental note to ask Alex about the history of the Lane sisters later.

“Clark is coming too,” Lucy says. “So he and Jimmy are going out for drinks while Lois and I bond.”

“So you really have no choice but to hang out with your sister,” Maggie concludes.

“And me!” Kara chimes in.

“Yeah but I’m choosing to spend time with you. If I could avoid this weekend, I would.”

Kara offers Lucy some of Alex’s dinner. Alex doesn’t protest because they all know Lucy isn’t getting any more of Kara’s potstickers. Alex just swipes some of Maggie’s dinner instead. The four women finish their food in silence.

The silence is only broken by Lucy when she goes to return Alex’s bourbon. She spots the case file on Alex’s desk and starts sifting through it.

“Need help on this?” Lucy asks.

“No.” Alex shoots out of her seat to try and retrieve the file from Lucy who skirts around the rest and out of reach. “I can figure it out myself.”

“Nonsense. We’re a team. Let me look at this.” Lucy shifts from just Lucy into Director Lane. “Go home, Agent Danvers. Before I make Kara fly you home or have your girlfriend arrest you for trespassing.”

Lucy strides out of Alex’s office with the case file in her hands. Alex stares after her, not exactly sure what just happened. Kara excuses herself, grinning. This wasn’t the first time Lucy or J’onn had ordered Alex to go home for the night. Nor would it be the last. Maybe tonight would be the first night she would listen. Maggie snickers.

“You heard the director, Danvers,” she teases as Alex pouts rather than glares at her. “Let’s go home. Or do I have to arrest you?”

She doesn’t expect Alex’s answer to that question to be, “It wouldn’t be the first time I get arrested in a DEO base.”

“Oh now this I _need_ to hear.”

##

Maggie heads to the DEO Friday afternoon following her shift to pick up Alex for dinner. She doesn’t expect to see Lucy’s sister Lois and Clark Kent of all people standing in the control room. Kara is in her Supergirl suit, chatting to Lois and Clark. J’onn has pulled Lucy and Alex aside, the latter still decked in full tactical gear. (It turns out Alex did need Lucy’s help cracking the case which they just finished wrapping up before Maggie’s arrival.) Winn, James, and Mon-El are gathered around Winn’s computer and laughing at something.

Maggie hangs back to watch everyone interact. There’s something about the way Clark moves, the way he carries himself, that kind of reminds her of Kara when she’s not Supergirl, when she’s not around people who know her secret. No one seems to notice Maggie save for J’onn. He tries to smile at her but it winds up being more of a grimace. He’s clearly not enjoying the conversation he’s having with Lucy and Alex. He taps Alex on the shoulder and tilts his head in Maggie’s direction.

Alex bounds over to Maggie, smiling widely. She kisses Maggie before dragging her over to the others.

“Maggie!” Kara rocks on the balls of her feet. “Come and meet Clark.”

Kara introduces Maggie to Clark and Lois. Maggie stares at Clark when he and Kara resume their conversation about their respective bosses. She notes how Clark is completely at ease around Kara dressed as Supergirl. It’s a little strange because Lois clearly isn’t as comfortable judging by the way she keeps Clark between her and Kara. Maggie doesn’t blame her. Even though Maggie has known about Kara’s secret identity for a while now, there are still times when she’s a little intimidated seeing Alex’s younger sister as Supergirl.

She keeps watching Clark and Kara while Alex excuses herself to change out of her uniform. Kara punches Clark in the arm when he says something silly and Clark doesn’t flinch. Ah. It makes a lot more sense now.

“Of _course_ Clark Kent is Superman,” she says.

Everyone freezes. They all stare at Maggie who shrugs.

“What?” She scoffs. “He didn’t even flinch when Kara punched him. He’s just hanging out in the DEO like it’s no big deal when most reporters would be salivating at the idea of writing an article about this place. Plus, the glasses? C’mon, guys.”

Behind her, Lucy sighs and says, “I’ll go get the paperwork. Damn it, Sawyer.”

“I’m a detective, Lane. I detect.”

Alex comes back in time to hear Maggie and to see Lucy stalk out of the control room. She arches a brow.

“What are you detecting now?” she asks.

“That Clark is Superman.” Maggie gives Alex a _look_ when her girlfriend scoffs. “Oh come on, Danvers. Clark isn’t even denying it.”

Clark looks down at his face with a sheepish smile. “If Kara trusts Maggie with her secret, I trust her with mine,” he says.

Maggie beams. She has to admit, being trusted with the secret identities of both Supers? Feels pretty damn good.

Lucy comes back with paperwork for Maggie to sign, which she does without actually reading it over. It’s the same paperwork she had to sign when J’onn found out Maggie knew Kara was Supergirl.

“Well, we’re off to dinner,” Alex says once Maggie is finished. She slips her hand into Maggie’s. “Everyone, behave. And please hope there are no alien attacks tonight for once.”

“You might get your wish,” Lucy says. “It’s shaping up to be a quiet night on the extra-terrestrial front.”

“That’s great!” Winn motions to J’onn. “That means J’onn can go out with us!”

J’onn opens his mouth to protest but gets cut off by both Alex and Kara.

“C’mon! It’ll be so much fun!”

“You always tell me to go out. You should do the same every once in a while.”

He tries to protest again but then Kara starts pouting and Alex gives him puppy-dog eyes so he just sighs in defeat and grumbles that he’ll go. He scowls when Alex grins and kisses him on the cheek before leaving. He scowls because Lucy, James, and Winn are thinking about how cute it is that J’onn can’t say ‘no’ to his Earth daughters.

“Just try not to get into any trouble tonight,” J’onn tells Kara and the Lane sisters as they get ready to leave.

Kara scoffs. “We’re just going out for drinks and shopping with M’gann,” she says. “How much trouble could we get in?”

“With you four?” J’onn makes a face. “A lot.”

“We’ll be sure to avoid any and all trouble tonight then. Same goes for you too, boys. No shenanigans that might require super powers. Clark and I are suit free tonight.”

“Yeah no super powers unless it’s to drink some frat boys under the table and take their money,” Lucy calls out just as the elevator doors close.

“Was she serious about that?” Mon-El asks.

“Knowing Lucy, probably,” James replies.


	2. The Boys' Night Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James' life was much simpler when he didn't know any aliens.

Mon-El is elected to choose where they go for the night. Of course he chooses the newest, most popular place in National City. James has to use his sway as the CEO of CatCo and a promise of a rave review to get them in. The guys decide Mon-El is never choosing where they go again. The venue a little more like a club than it is a bar but the drinks aren’t too overpriced.

Mon-El drags Winn over to the bar to grab the first round of drinks. It’s their turn to pay after losing a bet to James about whether or not J’onn would join them tonight. They bring everyone’s drinks to the table James, J’onn, and Clark managed to find in a corner away from most of the crowds. The music is still loud over here but they can still have a conversation without having to shout.

They talk about Mon-El and his training to become Superboy. Some days it goes well. Most days it doesn’t. He’s having trouble accepting that Superboy is going to be his name. (Alex and James think it’s fitting.) He’s also still struggling to work on listening to Kara and taking her advice. It’s a work in progress. Winn’s promised him a suit for when Kara thinks he’s ready.

“What about you, Jimmy?” Clark asks. “How’s the Guardian thing working out for you?”

“It’s good, man.” James grins. “It’s really good now that Kara is on board with the whole thing. And Maggie gives me a heads up on anything NCPD might need help with.”

“I’m glad.”

“Thanks, Clark. How’re things back at the Daily Planet?”

“Same old. It’s kind of why Lois wanted to come here this weekend. She wanted a break from our usual routine and we had some vacation days saved so here we are.”

“Well you two are always welcome in National City.”

“The same goes for you guys and Metropolis. You can even come back to the Planet if you want. Mr. White would probably love it if you came back.”

James laughs. “I think I’ll stick around CatCo. It’s become home to me.”

J’onn stands suddenly. The rest of the guys jump to their feet and start scanning the club for any signs of trouble. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary.

“What’s wrong, J’onn?” Clark asks.

“I’m not entirely sure,” J’onn answers. “But there might be a smuggling ring somewhere close if I heard those thoughts correctly.”

Clark and James sigh. So much for their night out. James reaches for his phone in his back pocket, ready to call the Danvers sisters. J’onn stops him by holding up a hand and shaking his head.

“Let’s hold off on calling the girls just yet,” he says. “They deserve a normal night out for once. I’d like to think we can handle this without Supergirl.”

“Of course we can.” Winn claps both Clark and Mon-El on the back. “We have Superman and Superboy.”

Mon-El groans. “Don’t I get to veto at least _one_ name?”

“Nope,” everyone says as they follow J’onn out of the club.

Once outside of the building, Clark uses his x-ray vision to scan the area for anything that might point to the possible smuggling ring J’onn mentioned. He finds it in the form of a building that’s supposedly closed for renovations. It’s the only building in the area that Clark can’t see into at all thanks to its completely lead lined walls.

Winn hacks the building’s security cameras. Or tries to anyway. They’re only there for show. He grumbles about money wasted on cameras that aren't hooked up to anything. He and Mon-El (thanks to his weakness against lead) get assigned to walk around the building at a safe distance and look for exits for the others.

J’onn scans the minds of the people coming in and out of the building. He catches one of the ring’s clients thinking about the password to gain entry into the building. He shifts into a larger, scarier looking man. He glares at James while he snaps a picture to send to the girls once they wrap up the job here. Alex and Maggie would get a kick out of it.

James heads over to a store down the block with Clark. They buy a couple of beanies. Clark swaps his slacks and oxfords for a pair of jeans and combat boots. James buys a pair of track pants that will be able to fit underneath his Guardian suit. They swing by James’ car to toss their old clothes into the trunk. James grabs the pair of gloves and vambraces that now hold his suit and shield and slips them onto his forearms. They rejoin J’onn, Winn, and Mon-El across the street from the building.

“So there are third other exits besides the front door,” Winn tells them. “Two seem to be welded shut but that shouldn’t be a problem for you guys if you need to escape through them. The third exit is located in the alley. It’s like the front door: bad guys hanging around. And these guys have guns. They’re guarding some sort of truck too so that’s probably how they’re transporting whatever it is they’re smuggling.”

“What are they smuggling anyway?” Mon-El asks.

“I’m not sure,” J’onn admits. “The people whose minds I’ve read just call it ‘the product.’ They could be smuggling anything from people to drugs to weapons.”

"And we’re not letting the police handle this because?”

“They could be tipped off and run before the police can get here. The three of us will go inside and find out what’s going on. You two are on standby, ready to call the police, or to round up anyone who comes running out those doors and looks like a threat. Mr. Schott, you will let Mon-El know who to go after if it comes to it.”

“Y-yes, sir.”

“Mon-El, you stop anyone he tells you to stop and make sure Mr. Schott here is still in one piece at the end of tonight.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What?! You’re saying there’s a chance I _won’t_ be in one piece at the end of tonight?”

“There’s always a possibility of that.” Mon-El claps Winn on the back. “You could die just getting out of bed. Or so I’ve heard.”

“ _Dude._ ”

“Not helpful?”

“No.”

At least Mon-El has the decency to look apologetic for being the cause of the distress that paints Winn’s face.

J’onn leads the way to the building. There’s a tense moment after he gives the password to the guard at the door. The guard pats down all three of them and pauses when he feels James’ arms. He’s about to pull up the sleeves to James’ hoodie when J’onn grabs him and growls.

“He’s got prosthetics. Is that going to be a problem?”

“Nah, man. You’re good to go. Enjoy the show.”

The three of them look at each other. The show? What the hell did that mean? James’ mind immediately goes to Roulette’s alien fighting ring. Hopefully it wasn’t something like that again tonight otherwise they would be calling in the girls for help.

They split up when they reach the fourth floor where everyone has gathered. It’s unfinished, like much of the rest of the building. No walls have been put up so James can see clear across the room. He makes sure he can see J’onn and Clark at all times and knows how far he is from the nearest exit. Just in case.

James pulls out his phone to send a quick text to Maggie only to see that she's texted him first.

 **Soy-er [6:17 pm]** – _You suck, Olsen._

 **[6:49 pm]** – _What’d I do?_

 **Soy-er [6:55 pm]** – _The restaurant you suggested double booked us tonight so now Alex and I are meeting up with the girls._

 **[6:56 pm]** – _Good luck with the Lane sisters._

 **Soy-er [6:59 pm]** – _I’m kind of hoping there’s an alien attack tonight._

 **[7:01 pm]** – _I take it Alex and Kara told you about the last time Lois came to visit._

 **Soy-er [7:01 pm]** – _Like I said: you suck._

 **[7:01 pm]** – _I wouldn’t hate me just yet. Might have something for you. Don’t tell the others until I’m sure though._

 **Soy-er [7:02 pm]** – _I take back every mean thing I’ve said about you. Whatcha got?_

Before James can answer, the lights in the room dim. A spotlight appears in the middle of the room where a makeshift stage has been set up. The conversations going on around the room die. Everyone gathers around the stage as a man in a suit steps up. He clears his throat before speaking.

“Thank you all for coming here tonight,” he says. His too-wide grin makes James uneasy. “I have some wonderful specimens here for you all to see and, hopefully, purchase. But first, a few house rules. Rule number one: no pictures. I will not have my men confiscate your phones but I ask that you do not take pictures of my products. If I find that you have, I will have my men confiscate your phone and escort you off the premises.”

James watches several people around him completely shut down their phones before shoving them back in their pockets. He does the same. He’ll answer Maggie once he knows just what the hell is going on.

“The second rule is similar to the first.” The man holds up two fingers. “No recording tonight’s event, audio, visual, or otherwise.” He raises a third finger. “Third rule: if you purchase one of tonight’s attractions, please remember that once it has been transferred to your care, my associates and I are no longer responsible to any injury that may come to you or them.”

Some of the people in the room mutter who knows what to those around them. Others leave the room. The suited man’s goons follow them.

James makes eye contact with J’onn from across the room. J’onn nods his head. James fires off a quick text to Winn to give him a heads up about the goon squad heading outside.

“The fourth rule is simple: enjoy the show.”

The man steps off the stage and disappears through a door leading to the stairs. The lights come back on and everyone goes back to their previous conversations. Those get cut short again when the door the suited man disappeared behind opens again. The man returns with one of his henchmen with him. The henchman is holding a leash in his hand. At the end of the leash is something that looks like a tiger, only a fourth of the size and green with spikes protruding from its back behind the shoulder blades.

“Our first pet up for auction is a Grisnek from the planet Tamaran,” says the man as his goon leads the creature onto the stage. “Bidding starts at twenty thousand dollars.”

James has to stop himself from groaning. His normal night out is really shot to hell now that they’ve come across an alien pet smuggling operation. He reaches for his phone to text Winn and Maggie as the Grisnek is purchased by some man with greasy, slicked back hair and a scar on his face. One of the man’s goons heads in his direction so James forgoes texting for back up for the time being.

The next two “pets” are also from Tamaran: a Zarnic and Glorg. Someone tries to buy one after purchasing the other but the man tells him that is not allowed. The Glorg will eat the Zarnic if given the opportunity. Keeping them separated during transportation to the building was a pain in the ass. He doesn’t want to go through the hassle of doing that again to bring them to the buyer’s place.

The fourth creature brought onto the stage is the most normal looking creature so far. It resembles a hedgehog only twice as large and light blue in color. The man in the suit describes it as a pet from the planet Czarnia and that it used to belong to The Last Czarnian, a bounty hunter. James thinks only a crazy person would purchase any of these animals, especially one that was probably stolen from an intergalactic bounty hunter.

The bidding gets underway. It’s interrupted by what sounds like a dog barking and men shouting. A white dog bursts through the door with five men chasing after it. The crowd scatters as the dog runs through the room. The goon holding the blue hedgehog drops it to join in trying to capture the dog. The hedgehog bolts towards the dog and jumps on its back. The dog bowls over two men and takes off down the stairs.

James seeks out J’onn and Clark. J’onn nods and they jump into action. James tackles one of the henchmen trying to escape in with the crowd. He hits the guy hard enough to knock him out. He zip ties the guys arms and legs together before searching him for weapons. He finds a gun that he’s pretty sure is alien in nature. He shows it to J’onn so the DEO can confiscate it later. He’s almost certain Alex is going to call dibs on it when she sees it.

James, J’onn, and Clark manage to subdue most of the henchmen. The man in the suit slips past them, using the crowd to disappear. The J’onn sends James and Clark to meet up with Mon-El while he calls the DEO to send agents to their location. James notices how he makes it a point to tell Agent McSweeten _not_ to call Alex.

James and Clark find Mon-El and Winn in the alley where the truck used to be. Winn is helping Mon-El to his feet. Three guys have been knocked unconscious and are slumped against the side of the building.

“So bad news,” Winn says, “the man in the suit escaped with the truck that still has some alien animals on it. Good news? ” He gestures over to the unconscious henchmen. “I helped knock out one of the bad guys!”

“What about the dog?” Clark asks.

“You mean the white blur that knocked Mon-El to the ground? Oh that’s long gone.”

“Is this the part where we call Kara and Alex for help?” Mon-El asks.

“No!” James says at the same time Winn asks, “Do you _want_ Alex to show us just how many ways she can kill us with one finger?”

"Forget about Alex killing us, do you know how much crap we’ll get from Lucy after she told us to stay out of trouble?” James adds. “She’ll never let us live it down.”

“So what do we do then?” Mon-El throws his arms up. “Do we just let this guy go? ‘Cause he’s getting pretty far away now since we’ve just been standing here. And Clark doesn’t have his suit so he can’t just Superman his way to catching these guys.”

“We’ll figure something out,” Clark says. “J’onn will probably have a plan by the time the DEO gets here.”

J'onn, it turns out, does have a plan formulated by the time the DEO arrives on the scene and takes the bad guys into custody. He tells one of the agents to set aside the alien gun James found for Agent Danvers to test out when she returns to base the next day. He has someone bring Winn’s Guardian van from wherever he keeps it to the alley behind the building. J’onn then instructs the half of his agents to take their prisoners to the DEO while the other half tries to locate the missing dog and hedgehog.

“Discreetly, of course,” he says. “We don’t need wind of this getting back to Agent Danvers and ruining her night.”

James says nothing about how Maggie wouldn’t mind helping in order to avoid the Lane sisters. He’s pretty sure J’onn has read his mind by the way he raises an eyebrow when he and James make eye contact.

Winn is tasked with hacking traffic cameras and tracking the truck belonging to the man in the suit. He narrows the location of the truck to an area of abandoned warehouses near the docks.

“Seriously though,” Winn mumbles as they head over to the docks. “What is with bad guys and docks? It’s like they all watch the same bad movies at the villain academy.”

“There’s a villain academy on this planet?”

James and J’onn share a look and ignore Mon-El’s question. Clark opens his mouth to answer but promptly shuts it when Winn shakes his head.

Winn turns off the headlights once they pass the gates for the docks. He maneuvers the van in between two rows of shipping containers and cuts the engine. Clark is the first person out of the van. He uses his x-ray vision and finds out where exactly the man in the suit and his friends are hiding. Their hideout is the warehouse farthest from where they parked.

J’onn has them split up to flank the warehouse. He, James, and Winn will approach the building from the back while Clark and Mon-El serve as a distraction by bursting through the front door. J’onn gives Winn a gun, which Winn tries to return to J’onn because firearms make him very uneasy.

“It’s a stun gun, Mr. Schott,” J’onn says. “You just aim and fire at anyone who comes at you.”

“Oh.” Winn takes back the gun. “That’s easy. I just pull the trigger right?”

Winn does just that. He pulls the trigger. The electrodes shoot out of the gun and attach to Mon-El’s shirt. Mon-El convulses as the electricity runs through his body. Winn drops the gun. Clark catches Mon-El before he drops to the ground.

"Take him back to the van,” J’onn instructs Clark. “Mr. Olsen, suit up. You and Clark will go through the front. Mr. Schott, you and I will go around the back. Please try not to shoot one of us this time.”

“Copy that, sir.”

James and Clark wait until J’onn and Winn are in position before they make their move. James presses the buttons on his vambraces and his Guardian suit wraps around the clothes he’s wearing. It’s a bit of a tight squeeze around his legs thanks to his jeans but his movements are miraculously not hindered. He flicks his left arm out and his shield expands.

“Ready when you are, Clark.”

Clark nods. He kicks down the door of the warehouse and rushes in to the sound of gun fire. James follows, shield up to protect as much of his body as possible. The bullets fired at him bounce of his shield and armor. He backhands the closest bad guy just as J’onn and Winn come from the back of the building.

There are more people in the warehouse than Clark had counted with his x-ray vision. There are also more than a dozen alien animals locked in cages. They have to be careful not to put them in the line of fire.

James finds himself flat on his back with a man kneeling on his shield, trying to get a shot through the slot for his eyes. Winn rushes over to them and shoots the guy with his stun gun. James tosses the guy to the side. He lets Winn help him to his feet. They look over to where J’onn and Clark are each taking on four goons at the same time.

“Shouldn’t we call for help?” Clark asks when some guy whacks him in the back of the head with a pipe. “I’m not saying we need back up. This would just go a lot quicker if we did.”

“No!” J’onn, James, and Winn yell.

It takes them another twenty minutes or so to completely subdue every bad guy in the warehouse. They gather them in the middle of the warehouse and Clark wraps a steel beam around them all. They find the man in the suit cowering in the back office. Winn tasers him when he tries to bolt.

It’s not until J’onn has the DEO whisk away the bad guys and the alien animals and Mon-El has regained consciousness that James remembers that he never responded to Maggie’s last text message.

 **Soy-er [7:07 pm]** – _James?_

 **Soy-er [7:12 pm]** – _Hello???_

 **Soy-er [7:15 pm]** – _OLSEN_

 **Soy-er [7:57 pm]** – _Nevermind. You still suck but my night is infinitely more fun now._

 **[9:46 pm]** – _Sorry. Got caught up with something. Drinks to make it up to you?_

 **Soy-er [10:17 pm]** – _You’d better have a damn good excuse, Olsen. Bar. Tomorrow. 7_

James chuckles as he pockets his phone. He and the boys are at the alien bar after learning that the dog and the hedgehog are in DEO custody. Winn has an ice pack resting against his face. One of the animals had smacked him in the face with its tail when he tried to pet it through the cage. Clark and J’onn are playing darts across the room. Mon-El sits to Winn’s left, pouting that he had been unconscious for the entire thing.

“You know,” James says more to himself than to Winn and Mon-El. “My life was so much simpler when I didn’t know any aliens.”

“Yeah.” Winn nods in agreement. “But was it this fun?”

“Definitely not.”

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr at ossiferko.tumblr.com


End file.
